This structure is the last remaining store building in the historic Starrsville community, which was settled circa 1821. It has had several uses throughout its history and is also referred to as the Franklin and Banks Store. One resource notes that it was used as the Starrsville post office for a time, but I haven’t been able to confirm this yet.
Starrsville Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This store was also known as Hill Top Groceries.
Though it closed a few years ago, it has been preserved as a community landmark.
A smart sign indicates that you’re in Hill Top. As other signs in the community indicate, the preferred spelling is Hill Top, but as a census-designated place and on maps, it’s written as one word.
Blackmon’s was one of two grocery stores in the small Hilltop community of Concord.
Pedenville is a rural community, anchored by an historic church. This was the only commercial structure I could find in the area.
This Art Deco neon sign for a Philco radio dealer is an Albany landmark in its own right. It likely dates to 1935-1945.
The Knight family opened this seafood market in 1937. The iconic sign may be nearly as old as the business itself. Charles Knight continued the tradition and kept Colquitt County supplied with the best fresh seafood available. The market closed in 2015, after nearly 80 years in business.
Moultrie Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Steffens Restaurant has been a Kingsland and Highway 17 landmark since it first opened in 1948. Trellis Crews writes: I owned & operated Steffens Restaurant from August 23, 1989 until December 31, 2007. This is the original location which is about 4 miles from the Florida line. As a note of interest I worked there as a waitress in the late 60’s before the interstate I 95 came through & in the 80’s (a fire shut it down in the 70’s) with the previous owners Darrell & Willie Mae Dyal who purchased it from the Steffens family 23 years earlier. It retains much of the charm of the roadside diners that once thrived along the Coast Highway when it was the main route to Florida on the Eastern Seaboard.
The restaurant is almost always busy, attracting both locals and road trippers.
I made this photograph in 2011. The sign and barn are still there, but I think the sign is completely faded now. It’s located near Madray Springs on Lanes Bridge Road.
This early 20th century commercial block was most notably home to a pharmacy, whose ghost sign remains.
Colbert Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 